Famous Buildings and When They Were Built

Extensive alignment of thousands of standing stones erected by Neolithic people in Brittany over many centuries

Egyptian pyramid built as a tomb for Khufu, the largest at Giza and the only ancient wonder still standing

Limestone statue of a reclining mythical creature with a human head and lion body guarding the Giza plateau

Prehistoric stone circle monument on Salisbury Plain consisting of large sarsen stones and smaller bluestones arranged in rings

Stepped temple tower in southern Mesopotamia dedicated to the moon god Nanna with a shrine at the summit

Largest Minoan palace complex on Crete featuring multi-story buildings, frescoes and advanced drainage systems

Terraced garden said to have risen above the Euphrates, the one ancient wonder whose site is disputed

Grand Ionic temple at Ephesus dedicated to the goddess Artemis, once counted among the seven wonders of the ancient world

Audience hall of the Persian kings at Persepolis supported by tall fluted columns with animal capitals

Long chariot racing stadium between the Palatine and Aventine hills that could seat over one hundred fifty thousand spectators

Central public square in ancient Rome surrounded by temples, basilicas and government buildings over many centuries

Doric temple housing the colossal gold and ivory statue of Zeus, once one of the seven wonders

Marble temple to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, and the emblem of classical Greek building ever since then

Elaborate tomb for Mausolus and Artemisia featuring a stepped pyramid roof and sculpted friezes by famous Greek artists

Doric temple on Mount Parnassus housing the oracle of Apollo where ancient Greeks sought prophecies

Tall tower on the island of Pharos guiding ships into Alexandria harbor with a fire at its summit

Chain of walls, ramparts and watchtowers built across northern China by successive dynasties against steppe raiders

Elaborate rock-cut facade at Petra carved into sandstone cliffs serving as a royal tomb or temple

Large temple complex in the Syrian desert combining Roman and local architectural traditions

Three-tiered Roman aqueduct bridge spanning the Gardon river valley with precisely fitted limestone blocks

Massive Roman temple complex in Lebanon featuring some of the largest stone blocks ever used in construction

Well-preserved Roman amphitheater in southern France used for gladiatorial games and now for modern events

Large oval amphitheater in Rome used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles, the largest ancient amphitheater ever built

Roman aqueduct bridge of granite blocks carrying water into Segovia without mortar across two tiers of arches

Tall marble column in Rome carved with a continuous spiral relief depicting the emperor's Dacian wars

Roman temple with a massive concrete dome and oculus, later converted into a Christian church still standing today

Stone fortification across northern Britain marking the northern frontier of the Roman Empire for three centuries

Roman library at Ephesus built as a tomb for Tiberius Julius Celsus with an ornate two-story facade

Largest structure at Teotihuacan in the valley of Mexico, built up in stages over several centuries

Roman triumphal arch near the Colosseum commemorating Constantine's victory at the Milvian Bridge

Byzantine cathedral in Constantinople later converted into a mosque and now a museum with a vast central dome

Octagonal shrine with a gilded dome on the Temple Mount, the oldest surviving Islamic building anywhere

Terraced Buddhist monument in Java built as one vast stupa, the largest such temple in the world

Maya city in Yucatan dominated by a stepped pyramid aligned so that shadow forms a serpent on the equinox

Norman fortress begun shortly after the conquest of England and expanded over several centuries into a royal palace

Largest inhabited castle in the world originally built by William the Conqueror

Longest medieval cathedral in Europe with a Norman nave later remodeled in Perpendicular style

Medieval royal palace that housed the English parliament until the nineteenth century fire

Scottish royal fortress built on an extinct volcano and repeatedly besieged throughout history

Norman cathedral built to house the shrine of Saint Cuthbert on a peninsula above the Wear

Tidal island abbey off the coast of Normandy reached by a causeway at low tide

Crusader castle in Syria considered one of the most important preserved medieval fortifications

Vast Khmer temple in Cambodia, built as a Hindu shrine and later Buddhist, the largest religious monument anywhere

Mother church of the Anglican Communion rebuilt after a fire in the late twelfth century

Stone city of mortarless granite walls in southern Africa, capital of a kingdom grown rich on gold and cattle

Eleven churches in Ethiopia cut downward out of solid volcanic rock, connected by trenches and tunnels

Octagonal castle in southern Italy built by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II

English cathedral with the tallest spire in Britain and the oldest working clock

French Gothic cathedral famous for its nearly complete set of medieval stained glass windows

Coronation church of English monarchs rebuilt in the Gothic style during the thirteenth century

Traditional coronation site of French kings featuring a west facade with many sculpted figures

Welsh castle built by Edward I as part of his campaign to control the region

Welsh castle intended to serve as the administrative center of Edward I's new principality

German Gothic cathedral begun in the thirteenth century and completed only in the nineteenth

Mud-brick mosque at Timbuktu, built as the city became a center of trade and manuscript scholarship on the Niger

Gothic cathedral standing on an island in the Seine, built over roughly two centuries of continuous medieval work

Freestanding bell tower whose tilt began during construction due to unstable ground beneath it

Palace and fortress complex in Granada built by Muslim rulers featuring intricate stucco work and gardens

Walled palace complex at the center of Beijing, seat of Chinese emperors for nearly five centuries

Inca settlement of terraces and dry-stone buildings on a ridge high above the Urubamba valley

Ottoman imperial residence in Istanbul that served as the main seat of government for centuries

Tudor palace on the Thames enlarged by Henry VIII with later Baroque additions

Former royal residence in Paris whose wings were extended over several centuries

Renaissance hunting lodge in the Loire Valley with a famous double-helix staircase

Moscow church of nine chapels on one foundation, each under a differently patterned colored onion dome

Short-lived Mughal capital near Agra built of red sandstone with carved pavilions

Mughal garden tomb in Delhi, the first of its kind and the model for the Taj Mahal

Ottoman mosque in Edirne whose central dome is supported by eight massive piers

Monastery palace complex near Madrid built as a mausoleum for Spanish Habsburg rulers

Sikh temple at Amritsar standing in a rectangular pool, its upper stories sheathed in gold leaf

Stone arch carrying two rows of shops across the Grand Canal at Venice, replacing successive wooden bridges

London open-air playhouse of timber and thatch, built from the salvaged frame of an earlier theater

Japanese hilltop castle of white plastered timber, whose keep survived every war and earthquake around it

Ottoman mosque in Istanbul known for its six minarets and blue tile interior

Renaissance church in Vatican City whose massive dome dominates the skyline of Rome

Persian mosque on the great square at Isfahan, faced entirely in seven-color glazed tile

Mughal fortress in Delhi whose red sandstone walls enclose imperial audience halls

White marble mausoleum at Agra, built by a Mughal emperor for the favorite wife who died in childbirth

Observatory built above the Thames to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea

Former royal residence outside Paris expanded into a vast Baroque complex by Louis XIV

Tibetan palace and fortress rising in tiers up a hill at Lhasa, built of rammed earth and stone

English baroque cathedral in London, rebuilt after the Great Fire with a dome carried on three separate shells

Baroque country house in Oxfordshire, given by the nation to the Duke of Marlborough for one victory

Russian imperial residence on the gulf near Saint Petersburg, laid out in answer to Versailles

Imperial summer residence outside Vienna, with formal gardens and a menagerie still open today

Imperial garden retreat of lakes, pavilions and a long painted corridor on the outskirts of Beijing

Brick assembly house in Philadelphia where the American declaration was adopted and the constitution later drafted

Baroque summer residence of the Russian empresses, on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg

Baroque residence of Russian emperors on the Neva River in Saint Petersburg

Neoclassical plantation house in Virginia, designed and endlessly rebuilt by its owner Thomas Jefferson

Monumental triumphal arch at the western end of the Champs-Élysées in Paris

Great bell inside the Elizabeth Tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London

Sea-level canal cut through the Egyptian desert joining the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, with no locks

Barcelona basilica of stone towers and tree-like columns, begun in 1882 and still unfinished

Hybrid cable-stayed and suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River

Obelisk on the National Mall commemorating George Washington as first president of the United States

Romantic revival castle on a Bavarian crag, built for a king who wanted a medieval fantasy rather than a fortress

Colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island representing Libertas the Roman goddess of freedom

Iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars, built as the entrance arch for a Paris world fair

Combined bascule and suspension bridge crossing the River Thames near the Tower of London

Ship canal cut across the isthmus of Panama, lifting vessels over the continental divide through a stair of locks

Neoclassical monument on the National Mall in Washington, built around a seated figure of Lincoln

Art Deco skyscraper in New York City famous for its terraced crown and stainless-steel spire

Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms atop Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro

Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan that held the title of tallest building for decades

Steel through-arch bridge carrying rail, vehicular and pedestrian traffic across Sydney Harbour

Concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River forming the border between Nevada and Arizona

Suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate strait between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean

Mountain carving depicting the heads of four United States presidents in the Black Hills

Concrete barrier and death strip that enclosed West Berlin for twenty-eight years

Stainless-steel catenary arch monument on the St. Louis riverfront symbolizing westward expansion

Multi-venue performing arts center with distinctive white sail-shaped shells on Bennelong Point

Freestanding communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto once the world's tallest

Pair of identical skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur connected by a double-deck skybridge

Cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London

Supertall skyscraper in Taipei that held the world height record for several years

Supertall skyscraper in Dubai that remains the tallest structure ever built by humans

Supertall glass skyscraper in Southwark, London, tapering to a spire that is left deliberately unfinished

Concrete dam across the Yangtze, the largest power station on earth by generating capacity

Supertall skyscraper at the rebuilt World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan